The Legend of Zelda: Visions of the Past
by BigD1987
Summary: In a modern Hyrule where the Triforce has passed into legend, a college student named Link is having strange dreams and isn't sure what they mean. Are they a premonition of things to come, or a vision into the past? If that isn't enough, he still has to deal with schoolwork and his own social life.
1. Meet Link

_The land is peaceful. I hear a bird chirping off somewhere. They sound really happy. I wonder what they're talking about. Maybe they're just so happy about the day. It is a beautiful sunset. It's like an old painting or tapestry, just beautiful. If feel like I can stay here all day. It just feels so right. I know I sound redundant, but who cares? It's fantastic! I could watch this for as long as possible! It's just so wonderful. There're so many animals and they're all just so delighted. I wonder if—_

_What is that? ! Oh no, this is bad! I can feel the ground rumbling... but this is no ordinary quake!_

_WHAT. IS. THAT! ? It's huge! It's a big black, beast! It's going to destroy everything!_

_Oh, no. I can't believe this. I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! ! ! Somebody do something! Wait... who's that? Is he... fighting that thing? That's incredible! Who is he?_

_Link..._

_What? Who said that? But who's fighting that thing? A man and a woman? Come on, get it! GET IT! YEAH! Wait, what are those people doing there? Is she..._

_Oh, my—how did she do that? She sent that thing to the sky? !_

_Link!_

_Who said that? Wait, what about the other two? Okay, the guy's fighting that beast... Oh, no. Oh, no!_

_Link!_

_Oh, no, is he dying? No, please don't—_

_"LINK! ! !"_

_"GAAH!_ OOF!"

"About time you woke up, sleepyhead! Come on, you've got class in one hour!"

Link scowled at his roommate Mido. For a Kokiri, he sure was bossy! He rubbed his head, feeling for a bump. Luckily, there wasn't much of one, since he fell on his ass first. The carpet in his dorm room also cushioned his fall off his bed. He got up off the floor to open up the window. He squinted as the sun hit his eyes and he looked out over the urban campus of the University of Hyrule. _Man, what a dream_, he thought. _What was that about, again? Oh, wait, I have class!_ Just barely enough time to take a quick 15-minute shower and have some cereal.

After his 15-minute shower was over, he grabbed the box of cereal. Even as a college freshman things hadn't changed much since when he was a kid. HNN (Hyrule News Network) was the same drivel it usually was. A lot of it was coverage of the remnants of the long-deposed royal family talking about how their daughter wanted privacy and junk like that. He didn't really pay attention (of course, public opinion on the royal family is literally split 33-33-33; 33% hate them, 33% like them, 33% have neutral opinions).

Discussions of royalty aside, Link still had a class to get to. Combing his spiky hair, he got up and walked over to his closet where he picked out his green short-sleeve button-down. He didn't even bother to button it up, exposing his white t-shirt.

"Hey nerd!" said Mido. "Are you going to put your comics away or not?"

"Don't touch those!" Link shouted, grabbing the stack of comics away.

"Hey, don't blame me, geek," said the half-pint Kokiri. "You're the one buying all the _Captain Hyrule_comics!"

"Why did I have to be roomies with this half-pint jerk?" said Link. Of course, despite Mido calling him a "nerd", he was actually pretty gifted in the looks department. He wasn't the prettiest or the most handsome man on campus, but he was still pretty good-looking. Of course, he didn't really care that much about it. "And _please_don't touch that sword and shield, okay?"

"Why?" asked Mido, changing the channel.

"Rusl gave those to me," he said. "I don't want them broken."

"Whatever," said Mido. Link shook his head, grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Fledge, Pip and I are going out to lunch at Telma's," said Link. "So I probably won't be back until this afternoon."

"Whatever!" said Mido. Link sighed and walked out the door to be met by Fledge.

"Hi, Link!" he said.

"Hi Fledge."

"Link, why are you in such a bad mood?" asked Fledge. "And why did you have to take it out on me?"

"My Kokiri roommate is an asshole," said Link. "Let's just get going and meet Pipit later."

"You don't want to—"

"No." he said. "I don't want to see Groose."

"What's that, geek-boy?"

"Too late," said Link. "Groose, please leave me alone."

"Why?" said the pompous pompadour'd strong man. "Are you in a hurry?"

"A bully in college," said Fledge. "Is it even possible?"

"You know, I still don't get how you got into the best university in Hyrule," Groose said, pointing his finger in Link's face. "All I see is some idiot who just sleeps in class and gets by with his head in the clouds!"

"I wouldn't be in Hyrule U if that was true," said Link. "And why are you here? I thought your hair took all the smarts."

"Hey, shut up!" Groose shouted. "You sicken me, you know that?"

"Fledge, let's just go," Link groaned.

"What about Pipit?"

"Oh damn," he said.

"Well," said Groose. "Looks like it's just you and me."

"GROOSE!" Speak of the Demon King.

"Hey, Pipit!" Link said to their RA.

"Groose, what are you doing?" asked Pipit. "I don't want you harassing the other residents, got it?"

"Oh no, I wasn't doing anything," said Groose. "We were just hanging out, like buddies!"

"If buddies constantly insulted each other," Link snarked.

"Groose, get out of here," said Pipit. Groose huffed and puffed and stormed down the hall back to his room in Lanaryu Hall. "Link, that's the 3rd time this week I've had to bail you out! When are you going to stand up for yourself?"

"Sorry," said Link.

"I know you don't think of yourself as a fighter," said Pipit. "But please just tell him to go away next time."

"Okay," said Link. "Let's go, Fledge. I'll meet you later, Pipit." He and Fledge walked to the elevator, which they took to the ground floor. Minutes later, they were out the door and headed for class.

Infodump time; the University of Hyrule is the largest university in Hyrule with 35,000 students. Located in the capital of Castleton, its urban campus is in the residential North Park neighborhood. And unlike the other two major universities in Castleton, Nayru University and the University of Castleton, its campus blends in with the neighborhood. By contrast, Nayru and Castleton U are like little islands in the city. There campus is bisected by the Castleton Transit Authority's Green Line elevated train.

With that info dump over, Link and Fledge still had to get to class in Gaepora Hall, the main lecture hall. They had to cross Royal Road to get to the main part of campus. The main part of campus is strewn across several blocks and there are a couple of quads in front of the university's main offices and in front of Gaepora Hall. The third quad is actually a triad in between the Triforce residences (Lanaryu, Eldin and Faron Halls).

Gaepora Hall is on the east side of the south quad on Draco Road. It was an especially nice and sunny fall day in late Majora (equivalent to August, credit to Demonic Apple of ZeldaUniverse for the calendar). It was still shorts weather (although Link was wearing jeans with his shirt!).

Fledge had a class in a different building from Link, so when they reached the quad (itself its own little island) he split up from Link who walked over to the modern, 5-year-old Gaepora Hall. Once inside, he looked for a place in the lecture auditorium for his History of Hyrule class.

He sat in the middle of the middle section, but a little close to the front so he could read the presentation at the screen. It was one of the larger and more popular classes at the U of Hyrule (primarily because it's a required course). He was pretty much a proverbial face in the crowd. But one face seemed to grab his attention.

It was a brown-haired girl who sat in the same row as him. And man, she was gorgeous. She's the kind of girl he'd be lucky to serve coffee to. He wasn't sure if he'd seen her anywhere other than in class, but he may have seen her somewhere else, maybe walking around campus or in the neighborhood—

"Alright, everyone, calm down and we'll get this class underway," said the professor, Prof. Nohansen. "First, some announcements, you will still have sections, I have found a suitable substitute, so don't expect to get out of class just because it's the second week of class. With that out of the way, we can get started.

"Last week we went over the syllabus of course," said Prof. Nohansen. "And on Nakaru (Tuesday) we talked about the creation myth, about how the Golden Goddesses created Hyrule and created the Triforce and Sacred Realm, and that the location of both the Triforce and the Sacred Realm have been lost. Well today, we're going to talk about the early history of Hyrule." He began his Slide presentation and the students started writing it down word-for-word.

"Much of the early history of Hyrule has been lost, but what we do know comes from several sources," said Prof. Nohansen. "First off, we have the somewhat unreliable oral history, but we also have some surviving documents. Second, we have archaeological evidence pointing to this era ending in a massive cataclysm. Third, there is a massive gap between this cataclysm and the next period of hylian civilization, with the founding of what would become the now former Kingdom of Hyrule.

"We don't know what Hyrule was called before the cataclysm," said Prof. Nohansen. "Historians prefer to use the term 'Prosperity Era' because it's said Hyrule was a land of prosperity under the Goddess Hylia. This era came to an end with this aforementioned cataclysm.

"But in this cataclysm, we have writings of a man who fought to stop it. We don't have his name, but he was referred to as a hero. And there have been several heroes over the years, it's just that Hyrule hasn't needed one since the Wind Sorcerer Vaati's last attack on Hyrule over 400 years ago.

"But, I'm getting ahead of myself. This lecture's about the Era of Prosperity, so let's get on with it. By the way, we'll get to the cataclysm in a couple of days, and we may end with the fall of the Royal Family, but let's get this lecture underway, we've already wasted a few minutes. Now, if you read your textbooks, you'll know that after the foundation of early Hyrule, the land was still tribal lands…"

Link started to nod off a little bit while the professor talked about… whatever. He was so—wait, gotta stay awake! Didn't want to fall asleep in the wrong place (He got the "sleepyhead" nickname for a reason). The professor faded in and out while he desperately tried to stay awake. Eventually, it became too much for him and he faded to black.

_SLAM! The bad guy's gone flying! Keep coming, I'm just getting warmed up! That's right, don't mess with me, Captain Hyrule! Hyrule's super soldier can't be stopped, G.A.N.O.N.! They're still coming? Come ON! Oh well, Din bless me, for I'm about to kick some ASS! Here they come, how many are there? Fifty? Fine._

_Okay, first one—POW! Right hook to the jaw! Who's next? They're coming now! Time to get this show on the road! Duck, dive, punch, kick, shield bash, kick, punch, duck, dodge, spin, turn, parry, block, punch! Ha ha, the Hylian Shield is fantastic! Okay, the Hyrulean soldiers are getting out of here. It shouldn't be too long, these G.A.N.O.N. guys should be easy!_

_Okay, just a few more, and I should be—what the—what's going on? ! Why are they all leaving? Did I do this? No, this doesn't feel good. Something's wrong. Are the soldiers—BOOM! ! ! OH MY GODS! ! ! What's going on? Okay, I know I'm not supposed to be scared, but I can't help it! Oh, Farore, all the soldiers are dead, and something's going on. Farore, give me courage! Alright, you—_

_What's—what is this? What's with all the black! I'm screaming… but I can't hear myself! Somebody save me! Save me save—_

Link awoke with a start. He almost screamed out loud but he clamped his hand over his mouth before he could let it out. No one in the large lecture hall heard him. The professor was still talking about early Hyrule. Link looked around. The brown-haired girl was the only one looking at him, but she had turned away from him. She must not have really noticed.

He took his hand off his mouth and quietly sighed. Where before he was sleepy, now he was wide awake. That nightmare must have done the trick. Well now he had to listen to the professor talk and talk and talk. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the nightmares now. That's actually been the fifth nightmare all week. And there seemed to be no end to them.

Link was relieved to finally get out of class. The professor was getting duller by the second; there was no chance in the underworld that he could survive another minute. As soon as it was over, he raced out of the lecture hall and into the noontime day.

So now he was hungry. He did not want any dining hall food. It tasted like cardboard, no matter which universe (Hyrule or Earth) you live in (trust me, I know). He dug for his wallet to check his Rupee bills. He had about 23 Rupees and 67 Cens. Telma's looks good. Telma's Bar and Grill, named for the woman who housed the Hyrule Resistance during the Twilight Incident, and founded by one of her descendents. And it's got some of the best food in this part of Castleton.

In fact, it wasn't even that far from campus, just across the street to the south. Well, not from his current spot, but south of campus. He slung his backpack strap across his right shoulder and headed off.

Once he got to the street across from Telma's, which was housed in a building sharing a dress shop, was right across the street. One of the campus buildings was also across the street, just to give you the idea. It's similar to DePaul University in Chicago, which blends into the surrounding Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Anyway, Link was about to cross when he noticed the brown-haired girl. Wait, she's _here? ! _She was reading a textbook (probably the history book). She had her figurative nose in the book, only glancing up on occasion to see where she was going. Her purple blouse stood out and she had her hand on a shoulder bag. Well, at this point, she walked right past Link.

He took one whiff of her perfume and stiffened like a sword. He brown hair flowed past her and she didn't even bother to look at him. Damn. But then he noticed she was about to step off the curb into oncoming traffic. This is bad!

Instinctively, and he's not sure why, he reached out and grabbed her by her upper left arm. She only glanced at him before he yanked her back on to the sidewalk. She yelped before she got a look at him. "What did you grab me for?" she asked. He pointed at the street and she looked to see a car driving right past. She sighed, recognizing what he'd done for her. "I'm sorry," she said.

Man, was she gorgeous! And he could have sworn she was a member of the Royal Family just by her looks. "You're welcome," he said with a deep blush that covered most of his face. She laughed lightly. And how melodic and wonderful! This girl's amazing.

"Well, I guess since we didn't meet properly, I must introduce myself," she said. "I am Zelda Kingson."

"Link Forrester," he replied shakily while shaking her hand. "Um, I was about to go and get some lunch at Telma's. Do you—"

"I love Telma's!" she replied. "Of course, I'll go with you!"

"Great!" he replied. "Then let's go!"

The crowd at Telma's was not as bad as Link had feared. Instead, it was a lighter than he expected. That's good! He just ordered a grilled cuckoo sandwich while Zelda ordered a salad. "Mm, this is good," she said with a mouth partially full of salad, "Much better than dorm food."

"I know," said Link. "If only the dorms had Telma for a cook."

"To be honest, I don't eat in the dining halls much anyway," said Zelda. "I make my own food."

"Do you—"

"Kingson apartments," said Zelda, answering his question before he could ask.

"How do you…"

"My family's well-off," she said. "And if you must ask, yes, it _is _a coincidence."

"Are you a mind-reader?" Link asked while handling some potato chips (or at least what we on Earth refer to them as). She chuckled.

"No," she replied. "But I do get those questions a lot."

"Do you ever wish to… not… be rich?" not the best choice of words, but they were the ones Link could best come up with.

"Oh, of course!" she said, luckily for him. "While there are exceptions, most rich people, they don't care about the average Hyrulean. All they care about is keeping up appearances. It's like some game the rich play, trying to out-opulent each other while people starve on the streets. They'll look like they care about the average Hyrulean, but most of them don't care."

"And your father…"

"I admit, he was an exception," she said. "Rich people are still people. I just don't like the way most of them act."

"I gotcha," said Link. "So what's the apartment like?"

"It's really nice," she said. "I have a great view of the campus."

"Lucky," he lamented.

"Hey," she said. "Don't act like that."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you seem like a really nice person," she said. He looked at her like she just praised the ancient villain Ganondorf. "Hear me out," she said. "I know when you pulled me out of traffic, I got mad—and I apologize for that—but I realized that someone who had a good heart would do something like that."

"You really think so?" Link asked.

"Yes," she said. "I am a very good judge of people, and—what is that?"

"What is what?"

"That," she pointed at his right hand. He looked at his hand.

"It's just a birthmark," he said. "I don't know why it looks like that."

"It looks like the Triforce," said Zelda.

"I'm not the only one with a Triforce birthmark," said Link. "My sister had one."

"I see," she said. "You do know what the three Triforce pieces are, don't you?"

"Courage, Power and Wisdom," he replied. "The Gods mad it as soon as they were done with the creation of Hyrule."

"You know your legends," she said. "Who knows, you may be destined for great things."

"You think so?"

"I can't predict the future," said Zelda. "But that's the beauty. Fate is predetermined. A person makes their own destiny. If you chose to do great things, you will be destined for great things."

"That kind of makes sense," said Link. "Say, um, do you want to see my dorm—not tonight, I have to baby-sit for someone, but can you—"

"It sounds nice," said Zelda. She was done with her salad and was getting up, grabbing her bag, Link followed suit. "Oh, and nice save earlier; I thought you were going to scream or something."

"Oh, you were watching?"

"Yes, and it looked like you were having a nightmare," she said as they walked out of the grill. "Is something going on?"

"I don't know," he said. "I've been having strange nightmares lately. Some… black… stuff; I'm not sure what it is. Sometimes I see some other things like people, but they get swallowed up by the blackness."

"That's just like mine…" she said quietly.

"What?"

"It's nothing," she said. 'What do you think they mean?"

"I don't know," said Link. "The university shrink isn't going to know anything."

"That attitude isn't going to help," she said. "I think you should talk to someone about it.

"Okay," he said. "Um, I know this sounds kinda crazy, but could I… um… getyournumber?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your… number."

Zelda raised her eyebrow. Then she figured out what he was trying to say. "You're not good with women, are you?"

"Not really," he said.

"You're kind of a geek, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

She chuckled, although not in a derisive manner, but more charmed by his dorkiness. "Alright," she said. "But you have to give me yours, too."

"Okay!" he said, whipping out his cell phone a little too eagerly, but in Zelda's mind added to his dorky charm. After exchanging phone numbers they bade goodbye and Link went to his next class. Right as Zelda was about to leave, she noticed something out of the corner of her right eye. She looked, but whatever it was, was gone now. She shrugged and left for her next class.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Okay, that's the end of that first chapter, how was it? If there's some kinks I need to straighten out, let me know, I'll try and fix them.


	2. Babysitting

"Thank you so much for helping, Link," Rusl said as he and Uli were preparing to go out for the evening. "Colin and his friends shouldn't be too much, should they?"

"Of course not!" Link replied. "They've never been a problem!"

"I hope not," said Uli, trying to walk around with a swollen pregnant stomach. "I want Colin and his friends in bed by nine, is that clear?"

"That's the routine," said Link.

"Good, so you understand," said Uli. "And if you have any problems, don't hesitate to call us, okay?"

"Gladly," said Link. "Have fun!" Rusl and Uli bade them good-bye and Link and Colin watched them leave.

"So now what are we gonna do, Link?" asked the very precocious Talo. "I wanna play some video games! Oh, actually, can you show us how to use a sword?"

"Um, I'm not sure if I should do that," Link said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I mean, I could, but I'd have to be really careful. I can't have a duel with anyone, if that's what you're asking."

"Come on Link!" Beth whined. "You know these babies are too immature to care!"

"Says the girl who squeals at boy bands," said Malo.

"Hey, don't insult the Kokiri Boys!" Beth shouted back.

"Are they really Kokiri?" asked Colin.

"I think so," said Beth. "Doesn't Link have a Kokiri for a roommate?"

"Yeah, and he's a pain," said Link. "Maybe I will teach you some sword play, but only outside where we have some room. Colin, do you have a toy sword or something?"

"Yes, I do," said the little tyke. "It's in my room."

"Thanks a lot," Link said as he ran upstairs into Colin's bedroom and came back down a couple minutes later with a Nerf (in our Earth-based vernacular) sword that looked like the Master Sword, an artifact that's been missing for a long time. "Okay everyone, it's a warm night tonight, so let's go outside and practice our swordsmanship!"

"_YEAH!_"

Once outside in the small backyard (there is a park pretty close by, though) Link warmed up while the kids sat eagerly to watch. He tapped the sword against the garage (Castleton garages are usually behind the house) to see how strong it was. He smiled and nodded. "Alright Colin, do you know any terms?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," said Colin. "You just swing the sword, right?"

"Actually, there's two types of swings," said Link. "Downward and sideways." He swung his sword downwards first and then sideways.

"Oh wow, that's amazing Link!" Beth swooned. "And how do you defend?"

"Block or parry," Link replied. "With foils, parrying is a little more difficult, but with a sword like this one, it can refer to either." He made a blocking move and threw off an invisible attacker.

"WOW!" said Talo. "What else can you do?"

"A simple thrust," said Link. He thrust the sword at an invisible attacker.

"Not bad," said Malo. "What about other moves?"

"Well, this is just your basic swordsmanship," said Link. "I'm not even sure swinging is the right term."

"Can you show us something more advanced?" asked Talo. "PLEASE?"

"Like what?"

"A spin move!"

"A spin move!?" Link didn't look very sure of himself in this situation, but the kids seemed pretty determined to see it. "Fine, I'll see what I can do," he said. He got into a stance and readied himself. Then he spun around in a way that was… oddly familiar.

"WOW that was so cool Link!" Talo cheered.

"Um, thanks," Link said with a smile. "How about we go inside and have some dinner and maybe watch _Captain Hyrule_?"

"AWRIGHT!" Talo shouted. He ran into the house screaming "FOR HYRUUULLLE!" Link chuckled at the youngster's enthusiasm, but Colin didn't seem so excited.

"Colin, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Um, it's nothing," Colin replied sheepishly.

"Come on now," Link said with a warm and brotherly smile. "You can tell me, what's wrong?"

"I wish I was as cool as you Link," said Colin.

Link laughed. "I wish I was cool, too," said Link. "Unfortunately, a lot of people don't seem to think so."

"They're wrong," said Colin. "When I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

"Why not be like your dad?" asked Link. "He's a good man. He gave me my sword and shield, after all. Come on, let's go get some dinner." Link took the young boy by the hand and led him inside where the kids were already starting to get ready for a movie instead of dinner.

However, Colin was content to help Link out in the kitchen, making some grilled cuccoo and a few side dishes. Link was pretty good at it, and Colin watched as Link taught him the steps to making good grilled cuccoo. They could hear the other kids cheering in excitement as they watched another video, not _Captain Hyrule_.

Link watched Colin making the marinara for the cuccoo, impressed with the youngster's confidence here. He'd watched his friend's son grow up, unhappy with how the kids treated Colin like some (verbal) punching bag. It reminded him of himself. Even if he could handle a sword and shield, he couldn't quite shake the teasing that he endured.

That's why he took to Colin so quickly. It wasn't some residual past-life… thing, it was just him being a good—was that the doorbell? "I'll get it," said Link.

So Link walked up to the door, opened it and to his surprise—"Zelda? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, "But I assume this is the babysitting job you told me about?"

"Of course," he replied. "But how come you're here?"

"I needed to pick something up from Rusl," she said. "If he's not here, then—"

"No, you can stay for a while if you want to!"

"Well then, I appreciate the invitation," she said. "I've never met Rusl's son before, so I guess this is a great opportunity."

"Then come in!" he said enthusiastically. She smiled and walked inside, following him into the kitchen where Colin had put the cuccoo breast into the marinade.

"Link," he said nervously, "Who is she?"

"Her name's Zelda," said Link. "She's a friend of your dad's."

"It's nice to meet you," Zelda said with a warm smile.

"Um, hi," Colin said nervously. "Why are you here?"

"I came to pick up a book, but since Rusl's not here, Link invited me in," she said. "So what are you making?"

"Grilled cuccoo," said Colin.

Zelda looked at Link (who was whistling nonchalantly) and said, "Didn't you already have that today?"

"It was Rusl's idea," said Link. Zelda sighed, shaking her head and mentioning something about how men can be so silly sometimes.

"As long as it tastes good," said Zelda.

"Let's go in the living room, the kids are going to watch a movie soon," Link said, leading her into the living room where the kids were.

The kids were getting impatient, watching a different show, not _Captain Hyrule_. And they ignored Zelda's presence, which Link only rolled his eyes at (they're kids after all). "Hey Link," said Malo. "Who's she?"

"Oh, her name's Zelda," said Link. "She knows Rusl, and she came to pick something up."

"FINALLY there's another girl here!" Beth huffed. Zelda chuckled, impressed with Beth's attitude.

"Ah, a girl?" Talo complained. "She probably doesn't even like _Captain Hyrule._"

"Actually," Zelda said, bending over and smiling at Talo. "I happen to be a big fan of _Captain Hyrule_ myself." Talo practically exploded, but he kept calm and carried on.

"Link, where's the food?" asked Malo.

"Colin and I are making cuccoo," said Link. "Once the marinade is done, it won't take very long to cook.

"These things take time," said Zelda. "I know! We'll make some snacks, how does that sound?"

"I already like it," said Link. "What about you guys?"

"Make it good," said Malo. Link rolled his eyes and walked back in the kitchen. He helped Colin get the cuccoo breast on the stovetop grill while Zelda looked for some snacks that won't ruin the kids' appetites.

"Anymore dreams?" she asked, whispering in his ear.

"No," he replied, checking on the cuccoo breast.

"From what I've heard about you, you would have taken 5 naps by now," said Zelda.

"One, actually," he replied, "And how do you know so much about me? I don't know that much about you, either. Didn't we just meet this afternoon?"

"I asked a friend of mine," she said. "Apparently she knew you in high school."

"Carol," he muttered to himself.

"She lives in my apartment building," said Zelda, oblivious to his muttering. "Is the cuccoo breast done?"

"Almost," said Link. "I guess we'll have to get to know each other better."

"Before we—"

"Not in front of Colin!" Link interrupted. Zelda nodded in understanding. Colin shrugged and ran back into the living room. Link shrugged himself and went back to fixing the cuccoo breast.

"Guess I got a little carried away," said Zelda. "So, I take it this is your freshman year at U of Hyrule?"

"Yeah, is this yours?"

"Of course," she replied. "My dad wanted me to go to Nayru or Castleton U, but I had friends who were going here, so I decided to come. He wasn't happy about it."

"Why, because you'd be among the comfolk?" Link asked. 'Comfolk' is the first bit of Hyrulean slang here; it's basically 'common folk' shortened and used in a sarcastic manner by… common folk.

"Pretty much, yeah," she replied. "He said it'd be a distraction to them, but judging from how anonymous I've been, it was a good decision."

"It's only been a week," said Link.

"I know, but so far so good," said Zelda.

"Cuccoo's done," said Link. "And by the way, it was Rusl's idea."

"Oh," Zelda said. "Is there enough for me?"

"Malo probably won't eat as much," said Link. "I'll cut up the one for him so you can have some."

"Sounds good," said Zelda. They went back to making dinner. Link heard her humming and noted how harmonious she was. But she was humming a song he'd heard before. It was a song that was popular with folk artists, who said it had something to do with the Royal Family. He began to wonder how she knew that song. But he shrugged. A lot of people still admired the Royal Family. They were a symbol of a bygone era, before the rise of democracy and the Republic. That's probably why popular opinion is literally split 33-33-33.

"Alright kids, dinner's ready!" he said, getting some sides and taking the cuccoo into the living room where the kids were snacking.

"Alright!" Talo cheered. "Let's get the movie on!"

"Zelda, the _Captain Hyrule_ disc is on top of the TV, can you put it in for me, please?" Link asked.

"Since you asked politely, of course," said Zelda. She turned the player on and put the disc in it while Link brought the disc menu on. The kids could barely contain themselves as Link pressed 'play' and the movie began.

As you can guess, _Captain Hyrule_ is essentially _Captain America_ IN HYRULE! *A-hem* Sorry. Anyway, the story is similar; some average Joe given an opportunity to become a super soldier, blah, blah, blah. Of course, there's a Hyrulean twist to this, since the guy uses the Hylian Shield as his main weapon. The Hylian Shield can be remade, but the one used by the Hero of Twilight is housed in the Hyrulean History Museum. Said museum was once Hyrule Castle.

Taking place in a time period very similar to the Second World War on Earth, the movie is about a young man who is transformed into a super soldier by Hyrulean scientists. While this seems incredibly nationalistic, remember that Captain America started the same way, but he's not considered jingoistic. In fact, even Labrynnians happen to like Captain Hyrule themselves.

Captain Hyrule ended up fighting an enemy named G.A.N.O.N. that was started by their enemies, the country of Bronkia, but eventually went rogue. Link watched as Captain Hyrule fought bravely against the GANON mooks. He was getting into the action, getting close to cheering. Looking to his side, he noticed Zelda was also engrossed in the movie. She wasn't kidding!

He blushed against his own will. He was drawn to this young woman. She was so nice, sarcastic (well, he didn't quite know for sure), and vivacious.

Link didn't feel sleepy at all while watching the movie. As the climax neared, he became even more engrossed in the action. Even the kids were engrossed, too (of course they would be). Link laughed silently but then an image of Captain Hyrule bashing a GANON robot caught his attention again.

The movie ended and it was bittersweet; just like his Earth counterpart, Captain Hyrule was frozen, only to wake up in modern Hyrule to defend the world from bad guys. Basically, it's typical comic book fare for geeks like Link. "That was fun, wasn't it?" asked Zelda.

"That was super-duper AWESOME!" said Talo.

"Calm down!" Beth grabbed his shoulder.

"Rusl should be getting back soon," said Link. "Beth, is your dad coming to pick you up?"

"We're sleeping over," said Beth.

"It is still summer vacation," said Link. Zelda nodded. Right on cue, a familiar man entered the house.

"Well, it seems we have a visitor!" said Rusl. "Hello, Zelda."

"Hello, Rusl," said Zelda. "I came to pick something up."

"Oh, right, your book," said Rusl. "Link, do you know her?"

"I just met her this afternoon," he chuckled. Rusl smiled while Zelda went off to find her book. When she came back, he only rubbed Link's spiky hair. "Rusl!" he said. Rusl only smiled and walked off.

Uli paid Link well while Rusl herded the kids upstairs. She thanked Zelda for helping Link and bade them goodbye. The two left a while later. "I've known Rusl since I was a kid," said Link. "He's like a big brother to me."

"That's nice," said Zelda. "So where do you live?"

"Nayru Hall," said Link. "Triforce Residences."

"Oh, I know where that is," said Zelda. "Do you mind—"

"No, I don't!" he said with a blush. Zelda chuckled at him, causing him to blush even more.

"You're such a dork," she said, "But that's okay. I like dorks." He blushed again, looking away in embarrassment. She patted him on the shoulder to make him relax a little more. "Do you have a roommate?"

"Yeah, his name's Mido," said Link. "And he's Kokiri.

"Kokiri!?" she said laughing. "I thought they never aged!"

"They do get older!" he said.

"Well that is true," she said. "So… are we going to get to know each other?"

"Um, what do you like to do?" he asked.

"I like long walks on the beach." Link sighed in annoyance while Zelda laughed. "I'm just kidding!" she said. "I already said I like _Captain Hyrule_, but I don't read comic books that much. I probably only read them every now and then."

"You mean on the L?"

"Of course," she replied. "I think I want to find a career in public service. Or, maybe I could become a teacher. Either way, I want to help people."

"That's nice," he said. "I'm not sure what my major is going to be."

"That's a shame," she said. "Although in fairness, I don't know either."

"I guess we're both on the same page," said Link. The two talked all the way back to Nayru Hall. A bond had been formed between the two, allowing him to be candid with her. "I wish I was great, or a hero, like Captain Hyrule."

"I think you could be great," she said. "Greatness isn't saving people from evil, it's rising to the occasion. I already told you what I think of destiny. Greatness could be your destiny. It could be becoming a great teacher, or a great writer. You don't have to be a superhero to be great. All it takes is commitment and I see someone who has the commitment to be great."

"Thanks, Zelda," he said with a smile. When Zelda said goodbye, Link felt good. He was going to have to spend more time with her.

He was still smiling when he reached his floor—and came face to face with Groose. "What're you smilin' about?" asked the pompous pompadour'd strongman.

"Nothing," Link replied, trying to get past him. It was then he noticed Fledge.

"Link, where were you?" he asked. "I was waiting for you in the quad for an hour!"

Link realized he'd forgotten about Fledge. "Oh, Fledge, I'm sorry!" he said. "I just forgot. But I did meet this girl—"

"A _girl_?" Groose scoffed. "Why would a girl be interested in you?"

"She has her reasons!" said Link. "Her name's Zelda."

"Is she nice?" asked Fledge.

"Very," said Link. He walked past while he had an opportunity and closed the door to his room. Fledge shrugged, apparently accepting his friend's new… friend.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_What is this? Where'd these monsters come from? What's going on? Oh no, another dream! Somebody get me out of here! What are these things? I've never seen or heard of them before. They have to be imaginary—are they attacking people!? What are they doing!? They're unarmed, why should they be—oh, they're monsters, of course! They look like lizards, or something, I don't know—_

_What? Where'd the green guy come from—holy Farore! That guy's beating all of them! Where'd he get that sword—another one? He's wearing green just like the other guy… Are they related? And now a third one? Where are these guys coming from? Okay, four more? So there's seven now. How many more are there?_

_They beat all the monsters? That's amazing—are they looking at me? What's this? They're… beckoning me? Why? What are they—where'd this green tunic come from? And this cap? Am I…_

Link awoke with a start. He looked around, and then sat up. Mido was still asleep. Link sighed quietly and fell back on the bed. _What was that? _He thought. It was so strange and yet so… familiar. Out of reflex, he looked at the Triforce birthmark on his right hand. _I wonder if it has anything to do with this,_ he thought.

He was about to find out.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It was a typical afternoon on campus. The main quad was filled with students passing to and from class. They were just minding their own business. They talked with friends, discussed their homework and just socialized.

Fledge was walking with some friends when he noticed something beginning to materialize in the center of the quad. Other students stopped and watched, wondering the same thing he was; what the heck is going on? Zelda, who was on the other side of the quad, also noticed this. And yet, she was drawn to it.

There were diamond patterns sparkling in the middle of the quad. Some of the campus police stepped forward, trying to keep the students away. It was at that moment something shot out of the diamonds, killing the cops.

Now the quad was filled with the screams of students. Fledge tried to stay on his feet, while Zelda ducked behind a tree, watching the center.

The diamonds then revealed a human figure. A white-haired person appeared in the center of campus. Dressed in a white sleeveless unitard with diamond patterns cut into the fabric and a red cloak… thingie, he stood up. He looked around with a predatory expression. Then, he flamboyantly posed and shouted "HYRULE! It feels SO GOOD to be BAAACK!"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

To be continued

So how'd you like it? I had a few questions that needed to be answered, and I hope I did a good job answering those questions and comments. And sorry I took so long to update this, I've had a lot of things I've got going on.

And our villain's Incoming Ham line is borrowed from a certain Slim Shady. Yes, I am that old to remember him.

The characters are borrowed from OoT, TP and SS, but Carol's an OC, so is Professor Nohansen. I'll introduce Carol later. As for the timeline, this is pretty much the distant future of the Child Timeline. There will only be a few references to OoT (sorry).

And just to make this clear, THIS IS NOT AN AU.


End file.
